Local singer-songwriter’s ‘The Joneses’ lands play time in national TV show

By Jewell Tomazin jtomazin@staugustine.com

Friday

Aug 3, 2018 at 2:01 AM

He may be a local in little old St. Augustine, but Billy Buchanan’s original song “The Joneses” will be heard all around the country on Monday, Aug. 6.

Around 30 seconds of Buchanan’s upbeat song will play in the pilot episode of “Lodge 49” on TV network AMC when it airs at 10 p.m. Monday.

The song fits Buchanan’s rock n’ soul revue style of music. Inspired from listening to his father’s records at a young age, Buchanan became enchanted with soul, blues and rock. When he was only 7 or 8, Buchanan decided he wanted to be a singer. He wrote his first song at 12.

A passionate songwriter, Buchanan blends those genres from his childhood into the music he writes and performs today. He also enjoys performing songs from some of his favorite artists, including Ray Charles, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Sam Cooke, and popular artists, such as Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars.

Buchanan is known for his upbeat sound and high-energy, engaging performances, whether it’s for a large crowd or at a more intimate setting.

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, but a current resident of St. Augustine, Buchanan performs 200 to 250 shows per year, often in Northeast Florida. He’s performed in all 50 states and in 26 countries, but “The Joneses” is the first of Buchanan’s songs to be featured in a TV show.

In addition to being a full-time entertainer and songwriter, Buchanan mentors, consults and develops aspiring artists through his music company, Persevere Entertainment Group.

“I think it’s important that I give a shoot-out to my soul brigade, that’s my fan base, especially here in St. Augustine. They have just been so supportive,” Buchanan said. “I play, and I mean, it’s always packed.” “It’s just neat to have people enjoy what you do and who get it.

For information, go to billybuchanan.org.

Q&A WITH BILLY BUCHANAN

Tell me about yourself, your music and why you do what you do.

I’m a full-time singer-songwriter. I always say that first, but I do a lot of stuff. I say that first because the songs are why I first got into music. When I think back as a kid, it was always about the tune. I was always the guy that opened up the album cover and looked at who wrote the song, who produced the song, who played on the song. And that was always the most interesting part of the music to me, was who created this. To this day, I still tell people, if I had to pick between writing a song, being a full-time songwriter or a performer, I’d pick being a songwriter any day of the week.

It’s all about the tune for me. And that’s so why — I perform a lot of original stuff and a lot of covers of stuff — I only will do music from people that I’m a fan of. I won’t play songs if I don’t like the artist, don’t like the song, so it’s all about the tune for me.

How long have you been writing and performing?

I’ve always been singing since I can remember, I used to sing in church. My mom played piano in church, my granddad played the guitar, my uncles played guitar, so music has always been there.

I started playing guitar around 12 or 13, and I haven’t put it down since. I started playing bass probably right after that, and so it’s always been a part of who I am, you know. And music has been really good to me. I never thought of being anything else. I didn’t want to be a fireman, or a policeman, I just wanted to rock. That was my goal in life, and that’s still my goal (laughing). And it’s worked out for me.

Could you describe your song “The Joneses” for anyone who hasn’t heard it, and explain what inspired you to write that song?

I co-wrote that song with a really good friend of mine, named Faith Gilmore.

I had an idea for this song, because it’s funny — even at times when I made a lot of money, I never wanted — it was never about the material stuff for me. It was cool to have money to be able to do the things you love to do, but it wasn’t about having money and being wealthy or whatever, you know. And but I know people like that, that it’s about that, and it’s such a turn-off to me. It’s like, this is some shallow nonsense, you know. So this song came from that place.

It’s kind of tongue-in-cheek if you listen to the words, just basically about an observation. It’s like, you know what man, you know, I’m good. I’m good just living a plain old, regular old life. You can do your thing, but I’m good with this kind of life.

What does it mean to you as an artist to have your music featured on a TV show?

As a songwriter, it’s everything to me. I don’t know man. It’s just validation that I’m not crazy and I’m actually pretty good at this. And for me, an extra bonus is that I wrote and produced that entire record by myself. I didn’t go pay some big record producer to come in. I did it all in my house with my 10-year-old computer, and so for them to take it, just as it is, it’s a neat feeling.

What do you enjoy most about being a musician?

I love collaborating, I love performing with other people, other musicians, and the older I get, the more I enjoy this. It’s cool, I do a lot of solo days where it’s just me and my guitar there, and it’s fine, but when I get to perform with other great, talented musicians behind me, it’s just neat.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.

Advertising

Stay Connected

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
The St. Augustine Record ~ One News Place, St. Augustine, FL 32086 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service